NOTA votes highest in K.R. Puram

Six years after it was introduced, the ‘none of the above’ or NOTA option is beginning to increasingly matter in elections in the country.

Although NOTA votes did not have an impact on the fortunes of candidates in the 15 constituencies where bypolls were held on December 5, K.R. Puram and Yeshwanthpura constituencies polled the highest number of these votes. On the other hand, Hoskote and K.R. Pet Assembly segments saw the least number of people opting for NOTA.

K.R. Puram saw 5,181 NOTA votes, while 2,812 people chose NOTA in Yeshwanthpur. On the contrary, 748 and 757 people opted for NOTA in K.R. Pet and Hoskote respectively, the least among the 15 constituencies. For the record, among these 15 constituencies, K.R. Puram had the highest number of NOTA votes in 2018 Assembly polls too at 2,464.

This time, in at least three constituencies — Ranebennur, Yellapura and K.R. Puram — NOTA votes were higher that those polled by JD(S). Except for Hoskote, K.R. Pet, Shivajinagar and Chickballapur, the remaining bypoll constituencies got an average of 1,500 NOTA votes.

In the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections, NOTA polled only 0.9% of the total votes (in 224 constituencies) and NOTA count was more than the victory margin in a few constituencies.

A total of 23,174 votes were polled for NOTA in these 15 constituencies in 2018 Assembly polls. At 24,073, the NOTA votes remain slightly lesser than the 2018 figure in the bypolls in these constituencies.